The Who's Top 100 Songs/Studio Albums Ranked

The Who Top 100 Songs/ Studio Albums Ranked

The Who were a rock group that formed in London in 1964. In their early years, they became known for their antics of destroying their instruments on stage. They became a staple of album rock with classics such as the 1969 rock opera Tommy and 1971’s Who’s Next The original lineup of singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon lasted until 1978 when Moon died at age 32 from a drug overdose. At their concert in Cincinnati on December 3, 1979, eleven people were trampled to death when fans tried to push their way in before the show. The band broke up in 1982, but regrouped for Live Aid in 1986 and again in 1989 for a 25th anniversary tour. They subsequently regrouped multiple times. Just before their 2002 tour, Entwistle died at age 57 from a cocaine-induced heart attack. In 2006, they released their first studio album, Endless Wire, in 24 years. They reconvened again for the album Who in 2019. Click here to see other best-of lists from performers and here to see other best-of lists from songwriters and/or producers. Spotify Podcast: Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: The 50th Anniversary of Who’s Next which draws from this list. It premieres August 17, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards:

Top 100 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. This list includes solo material from Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey as well as music by The Who. DMDB Top 1%: 1. My Generation (1965) 2. Won’t Get Fooled Again (1971) 3. Baba O’Riley (1971) DMDB Top 2%: 4. I Can See for Miles (1967) 5. I Can't Explain (1965) 6. Pinball Wizard (1969) 7. Behind Blue Eyes (1971) DMDB Top 5%: 8. Who Are You (1978) 9. Magic Bus (1968) 10. Love Reign O’er Me (1973) 11. You Better You Bet (1981) DMDB Top 10%: 12. Substitute (1966) 13. Happy Jack (1966) 14. Squeeze Box (1975) 15. The Kids Are Alright (1966) 16. Pictures of Lily (1967) 17. The Seeker (1970) 18. Eminence Front (1982) 19. Join Together (1972) 20. 5:15 (1973) 21. Let My Love Open the Door (Pete Townshend, 1980) 22. Summertime Blues (1970) 23. Bargain (1971) DMDB Top 20%: 24. I’m Free (1969) 25. We’re Not Gonna Take It/See Me Feel Me (1970) 26. I’m a Boy (1966) 27. Athena (1982) 28. Relay (1972) 29. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (1965) 30. Long Live Rock (1974) 31. The Real Me (1973) 32. Let’s See Action (1971) 33. Rough Boys (Pete Townshend, 1980) 34. Call Me Lightning (1968) 35. Face the Face (Pete Townshend, 1985) 36. Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Roger Daltrey, 1987) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 37. A Legal Matter (1965) 38. Don’t Let Go the Coat (1981) 39. Boris the Spider (1966) 40. Without Your Love (Roger Daltrey, 1980) 41. The Song Is Over (1971) 42. Another Tricky Day (1981) 43. Goin’ Mobile (1971) 44. After the Fire (Roger Daltrey, 1985) 45. Dogs (1968) 46. The Last Time (1967) 47. Slip Kid (1975) 48. Giving It All Away (Roger Daltrey, 1973) 49. Pure and Easy (Pete Townshend, 1972) 50. My Wife (1971) 51. Gettin’ in Tune (1971) 52. It’s Not Enough (2006) 53. Behind Blue Eyes (acoustic version by Pete Townshend, 1983) 54. Give Blood (Pete Townshend, 1985) 55. Quicksilver Lightning (Roger Daltrey, 1986) 56. A Friend Is a Friend (Pete Townshend, 1989) 57. Free Me (Roger Daltrey, 1980) 58. Slit Skirts (Pete Townshend, 1982) 59. Love Ain’t for Keepin’ (1971) 60. Real Good Looking Boy (2004) 61. Let Me Down Easy (Roger Daltrey, 1985) 62. Under a Raging Moon (Roger Daltrey, 1985) 63. Go to the Mirror Boy (1969) 64. Amazing Journey/Sparks (1969) 65. Under My Thumb (1967) 66. It’s a Boy (1969) 67. Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting (1991) 68. Postcard (1974) 69. All This Music Must Fade (2019) 70. Sister Disco (1978) 71. Take Me Home (Roger Daltrey, 1987) 72. Come and Get Your Love (Roger Daltrey, 1975) 73. The Acid Queen (1969) 74. Avenging Annie (Roger Daltrey, 1977) 75. A Little Is Enough (Pete Townshend, 1980) 76. Do You Think It’s Alright/Fiddle About (1969) 77. Cousin Kevin (1969) 78. Young Man Blues (1970) 79. Shakin’ All Over (1970) 80. Pinball Wizard (live version by Pete Townshend, 1986) 81. It’s Hard (1982) 82. Daily Records (1981) 83. How Can You Do It Alone (1981) 84. Be Lucky (2014) 85. Trick of the Light (1978) 86. Music Must Change (1978) 87. Won’t Get Fooled Again (Pete Townshend live with John Williams, 1981) 88. Naked Eye (live, 1971) 89. Sheraton Gibson (Pete Townshend, 1972) 90. English Boy (Pete Townshend, 1993) 91. Did You Steal My Money (1981) 92. Dig (1989) 93. You (1981) 94. Fire (1989) 95. Twist and Shout (live) (1980) 96. Walking in My Sleep (Roger Daltrey, 1984) 97. Heaven and Hell (1970) 98. How Many Friends (1975) 99. Had Enough (1978) 100. Fortune Teller (1968) The Who: Studio Albums Ranked Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by album’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, critics’ ratings, and awards. Also factored in are the status of each album’s songs in Dave’s Music Database for songs. 1. Who’s Next (1971) 2. Tommy (1969) 3. Quadrophenia (1973) 4. Sell Out (1967) 5. My Generation (1965) 6. A Quick One (1966) 7. By Numbers (1975) 8. Endless Wire (2006) 9. Who Are You (1978) 10. Face Dances (1981) 11. Who (2019) 12. Magic Bus * (1968) 13. Lifehouse (2000) 14. It’s Hard (1982) * Technically not a studio album but a compilation, but included here because the songs were various singles, B-sides, and leftovers all recorded in 1967 and 1968. Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for The Who Dave’s Music Database (2/8/2010). “Now Presenting the Half Time Show Starring the Theme Songs of CSI” Dave’s Music Database: “Best-of Lists for Performers” Dave’s Music Database: “Best-of Lists for Songwriters and/or Producers Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 7/27/2012; last updated 8/18/2021.

Now Presenting the Half Time Show Starring the Theme Songs of CSI

I can’t shake this image of a CBS board meeting in which the discussion turns to entertainment for the Super Bowl Half Time show. Some smart alec suggests CBS find a way to shamelessly plug their shows. Everyone shifts in their chairs uncomfortably, feigning disgust while wiping the spittle from the corners of their lips as they salivate at the thought. Some genius quickly notes, “well, all three of our CSI shows use theme songs by The Who,” followed by the observation that in recent years the NFL has shown a distinct fondness for what we’ll politely call “heritage acts.” (Personal note: I’d much rather watch The Who or Springsteen or The Stones than Jonas Brothers or Miley Cyrus, but I don’t represent the younger audience typically coveted by the Boob Tube).

Ta-dah! Someone’s on the phone to the management of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey and their who-the-heck-are-they fill-ins for drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle. At this point, Who critics launch into well-rehearsed arguments that the band shoulda hung it up three decades ago when a drug overdose sent Moon to the great rock and roll beyond. When illegal substances also took out Entwistle nearly a quarter century later, Townshend and Daltrey should have happily taken their senior discounts at the local multiplex and started hitting local diners for the early bird specials.

This is the kind of rallying argument that is roughly like supporting the fight against poverty or homelessness. There isn’t really anyone arguing FOR poverty or homelessness, is there? Similarly, rock music fans don’t argue in favor of, ahem, “heritage acts” milking their catalogs for every ounce of profit even if it means the star who leapt off speaker towers forty years ago is now breaking a hip when he slips off the stage.

The naysayers can whine about how good the Who were back in ’64 when they first started out, but I say, at age 64 if Townshend still wants to flail his arm around in that iconic windmill pose, then damned be the retirement home. Rock musicians are strangely held to a different standard than musicians from other genres. To my knowledge, the blues world hasn’t called for B.B. King to quietly put Lucille in her guitar case and back away. I’m not aware of anyone crying foul that Willie Nelson still trots out on stage night after night in his bandana and braided ponytails. Yet people cringe when an old fogie (are there young fogies?) who once wrote “hope I die before I get old,” uh, well, doesn’t.

The problem is how rock and roll was born out of the celebration of youth. The Beatles broke up before any of them hit their thirties. Jimi Hendrix is permanently frozen in time at age 27. Buddy Holly was tragically taken before his time because, well, the rock and roll legend-making machine said it was his time.

Let’s be real here, though. Rock and roll has also always been about making money and – believe it or not – making music. There's also the whole sex and drugs thing, but that's another blog entry. Why should anyone be faulted for doing what they know how to do and taking home a paycheck because of it? I say let the Pete Townshends of the world still perform, even when they need a walker to get on stage and a teleprompter to remember words they’ve belted out thousands of times before. I’d rather The King didn’t take his final breath on the toilet at 42. I’d prefer that the looney bin got a hold of Mark David Chapman pre-December 8, 1980. I wish the Lizard King hadn’t drowned in his bathtub, that “Me and Bobby McGee” hadn’t been a posthumous #1, and that Neil Young’s lyric “better to burn out than to fade away” wouldn’t evoke the image of a grunge god and a shotgun.

Rock and roll is littered with too many casualties whose untimely deaths were investigated by real CSI units. If the Who want to sing the CSI theme song for a possible audience of 100 million, then more power to them. Here’s hoping that all our living rock legends get a chance to milk the line “hope I die before I get old” for every last ounce of irony.


Also check out Dave's Music Database on Facebook, where a top 10 best songs of the Who list has been posted.